Student Nominated for This Year's NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short Form

Film student Adewale Olukayode has been nominated for this year's NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short Form, Live Action for his film Home. The film was produced by alumni Jungyoon Kim ’20 and Najah Diop ’20, and film student Henry Arroyo. There were four other short form films nominated in the category. 

Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. The NAACP Image Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the arts, including film, television, digital media, music, and literature. The prestigious award franchise also honors individuals and groups that promote social justice. 

Home follows the story of Femi, a Nigerian immigrant who must question his values and his conception of the American Dream, when his older brother, Adeola, steals a large sum of cash one night. Olukayode was previously awarded the DGA award for Best African American Student Filmmaker in the Eastern Region for his film Home. Home also won the Grand Prize for Narrative at the 2020 March on Washington Film Festival, and was nominated for the Bridging the Borders Award and Best Student US Short at The Palm Springs International Film Festival. 

“While we are living in unprecedented times, we are excited to continue the rich tradition of recognizing the excellence and achievement of people of color in the arts,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “Uplifting and celebrating diverse content, narratives and representation have the power to shape perceptions and change communities—which is needed now more than ever.”

Members of the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee are individuals within the entertainment industry (studio/network executives, actors, artists, managers, agents, publicists, journalists, literary agents, and others) and NAACP Board members, NAACP Foundation Trustees, staff, partners and others.

Adewale Oukayode is a writer, director, educator and comedian from New York and Nigeria. He studies in Columbia University’s MFA program for Screenwriting/Directing. His films address themes of justice, transformation, and healing. They are influenced by African cinema, which he spoke passionately about at the College de France as a guest lecturer. His films have been nominated for two 2014 NY Emmy Awards, including We are One which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival at their Youth Initiative. He is working on his first feature East New York, which won the Princess Grace Award.

Jungyoon Kim is an award-winning film producer with experience in developing and producing narrative and documentary films in China, Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, and the US. He began his career in Los Angeles as a mailroom intern at Mosaic, Jimmy Miller’s talent management company. Since then, Kim has worked on Emmy Award-winning television shows such as Mozart in the Jungle and Transparent. Kim’s previous films showcased and won awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Shorts, Krakow Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, and the DGA.

Najah Diop obtained an MFA in Creative Producing from Columbia University. Diop is currently a development coordinator for Magic Lemonade, where she coordinates all production related activities. Her cinematic goals are to offer content that elongates the view of people of color and women that infiltrates the dominant gaze with emotional equity and mutual respect. 

Henry Arroyo is an Astoria, Queens based Filmmaker, and experienced writer and director with a demonstrated history of working in the media production industry. 

The 52nd NAACP Image Awards will air on BET at 8 pm EST on Saturday, March 27th.